CHILDREN'S EARLY EDUCATION IN A PRESCHOOL INSTITUTION: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS

In recent years in Lithuania and Europe children's early education is getting more and more attention. The research has identified that out of all the cycles of education the biggest economic return is given namely by the investments into the education of children from their birth to 5 years of age. Early childhood is the most appropriate time to positively influence child's development and eliminate difficulties by educational means because if they are not eliminated until the age of 5, they usually keep becoming more and more distinct. Therefore, already since 1992 children's early institutional education has been considered as one of the priorities of education. It has been identified by research that early education is a special period, important for child's purposeful and high-quality education and his/her life both in the present and future. It is especially important for children growing under the conditions of social risk and social exclusion because it gives opportunities to these children to achieve better academic results in the future, at the same time to ensure better future prospects as well. However, there are also problems related to the organization of early education, the solutions of which require not only closer collaboration between the institution and the family but also changes in the system of education.